The Dulcian

(curtal)

The common bleting musicke is the drone, hobuis and curtoll.

Stephen Batman, 1582

One of the most significant innovations in sixteenth century woodwind
instrument building was the development of the double bore principle. Two
parallel holes drilled in the same piece of wood and connected at one end
by a U-curve allowed aninstrument to sound twice as low for its
apparentlength as one with a single bore. Little is known about where the
earliest development took place, although some evidence points to Italy.
The name dulcian (also
dulzian, dulzian, dolzone, delzan, dulcan, dolcan)
is from the Latin
dulcis (sweet). This instrument was also called
the curtal (or curtoll, curtail) from the Latin curtus (short).

By the end of the sixteenth century the dulcian had become a part
of the town band. The bass shawm was did not last because it was too cumbersome
and heavy. The dulcian could be used not only as an outdoor band instrument,
but also in church to double the bass line on motets and masses, and in
the courtly chamber for more intimate secular music. To counteract the
bottom-heavy sound created by its conical bore, and to allow it to play
with softer instruments, a perforated mute or bell cap, looking much like
a pepper shaker, may be inserted in the open end. According to Praetorius,
this makes the tone considerably softer and more beautiful.

The dulcian was made in several sizes and has a range of about two
and one-half octaves (C to g1). As the name indicates, the
tone has a dolce quality when compared to the shawm. The bass size
was the one which lasted as the forerunner of the bassoon.

Musica Antiqua's collection includes a cherrywood bass dulcian in C
by Gunther Koerber of Germany and a Moeck bass dulcian.